Sponsors
The bill improves clarity for ethics oversight and gives staff safer ways to report concerns about a Member's cognitive fitness, but it raises substantial privacy and due-process risks for Members, creates opportunities for politicized complaints, and incurs modest administrative costs.
Members of the House: establishes a clear, standardized test for when a Member's conduct appears driven by significant, irreversible cognitive impairment so the Committee on Ethics can handle such cases more consistently.
House employees and staff: requires published guidance and confidential reporting channels so staff can safely report concerns about a Member's mental capacity, which may improve reporting and protection for employees.
Members of the House: could face reputational harm, disclosure, or removal proceedings based on a medical standard that may be contested, raising due-process and privacy concerns for Members and their families.
House employees and Members: publicly available procedures and reporting channels could be misused for politically motivated or malicious complaints, increasing politicization of internal processes and risk to staff.
Taxpayers and House offices: developing, implementing, and responding to the new standards and guidance will create administrative costs and workload for offices and committees.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Office of Congressional Conduct to define when a Member’s conduct is due to significant, irreversible cognitive impairment and directs the Ethics Committee to adopt that standard and publish staff-reporting guidance.
Introduced March 4, 2026 by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez · Last progress March 4, 2026
Requires the Office of Congressional Conduct to create a clear standard for determining when a Member’s inability to act in a way that reflects creditably on the House is attributable to a significant, irreversible cognitive impairment, and requires the Committee on Ethics to review and adopt that standard. Also directs the Committee on Ethics to publish guidance so House employees can safely and confidentially raise concerns about a Member’s mental capacity. The Office must deliver its report within 180 days of the resolution’s adoption and the Committee must act within 90 days after receiving the report.